After Republican Sen. Ted Cruz forced his Republican colleagues to vote on the debt ceiling this past week, Sen. John McCain of Arizona said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he “respect(s) … his rights” but said he had “no plan.”

Cruz, a thorn in the side of mainstream Republicans and beloved by Democrats because of his watch-out-for-No. 1 mentality that burns his partymates, gained no friends last week with his latest stunt: blocking the debt ceiling bill that most of the rest of his party just wanted to put behind them.

Republican strategist Kevin Madden, also on “State of the Union,” said that “a lot of the usual tools that you have at your disposal as majority leader to punish somebody like Cruz is not there because Ted Cruz … doesn’t care about moving up in the Senate.”

“But is (retribution) real - or is it forced? I mean in the - in ‘House of Cards,’ you do this to the leader or you end up in the river or in the Dumpster,” John King, CNN’s “Inside Politics,” said.

Mitch McConnell

Cruz screwed up McConnell’s plan to force the Democrats to pass the measure to lift the tapped debt limit, a ploy to protect Republicans from having to vote for it.

But Cruz blocked McConnell, forcing Republicans to vote for the measure. McConnell, whose political savviness resembles #HOC’s top congressman, Frank Underwood, minus the cold-hearted murders, wasn’t too happy, to say the least. Washington Post reporter Robert Costa said on “Inside Politics” that McConnell was "furious" at Cruz for forcing a 60-vote threshold to raise the debt ceiling.

Madden, the Republican strategist, said McConnell “will take a little bit of a hit” at home in his re-election bid, “but he’s still in a much stronger position because we’ll have the debt ceiling showdown off the table.”

But others are praising the House speaker for his play this past week regarding the debt limit.

After battling – and giving in – to the conservative core of his House Republican caucus multiples times, including the time when it led to the 16-day government shutdown, Boehner shocked political observers by voting on a “clean” debt limit bill that doesn’t have any quid pro quos attached.

“He had a good week,” Democratic strategist Margie Omero said on “State of the Union.”

Madden agreed: “He’s trying to get his members to fight the smart fight,” Madden said, which is not the debt limit but Obamacare. “He’s in a much better place” now that the debt limit has been lifted and Republicans don’t have to address it again before the 2014 elections.

CNN National Political Reporter Peter Hamby said on “Inside Politics” that “Boehner thinks that what more can he do with this group of people in the House and that's why he just thinks he's done the right thing for the party, averted fiscal disaster and helped the party in the midterm elections. I think talking to people around him and people in leadership, he just can't deal with this small segment of the party.”

As newly unearthed documents reveal some of Clinton’s thoughts regarding her husband’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, the Clinton years are back in the news.

Oh, and CNN reports that the reason Clinton wanted to keep such detailed notes on her time as first lady was for “revenge.” That’s very Underwood of her, but before Underwood or Netflix even existed.

Omera, the Democratic strategist, said, “I don’t think there is a single undecided or undecided-leaning voter out there who is going to change their mind based on these papers.”

Omera noted that if Republicans hound Clinton for things that happened a long time ago, the throwback will remind people that the Republican Party is a “party of the past.”

Madden, once again, agreed with Omera. “The way to beat Hillary Clinton in 2016 if there is a Hillary Clinton candidacy is not through Arkansas and the past. It is a litigation of the future of this country,” he said.

“Does America want somebody associated with Washington … who’s been here for 25 years? Do we want an Obama third term?” Madden added.

Unfortunately for McCain, he has been sounding the alarm on Syria since that country’s civil war began nearly three years ago, but the Obama administration, which calls the shots, doesn’t seem to be listening.

He called the American role an “abysmal failure and a disgraceful one.”

He said he doesn’t want to put American service members on the ground there, “but to not revisit other options, which are viable – I think is the only thing we can do,” he said on “State of the Union.”

A second round of peace talks wrapped up in Geneva on Saturday with little progress toward ending Syria's civil war, and nearly 5,000 people have died in there in the past three weeks, marking the most violent stretch yet.

On the same day McCain expressed his dismay, Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. is committed to finding a “political solution” in Syria.

House of Cards

Season 2 is out, and it is intense. ABC’s “This Week” interviewed Kevin Spacey, who plays the ruthless main character, House Majority Whip Frank Underwood. The actor said “House of Cards” is not far from the real Washington of political dealmaking, backstabbing and win-at-all-costs machinations.

soundoff(80 Responses)

LeglizHemp

Look, I said this at least 2-3 years ago, Ted Cruz's goal is to break up the USA. He wants Texas to be its own country. Kansas, Alaska, Arizona and probably 5-7 other Red States also want this. Parts of the Tea Party want this although many members don't realize they are being used for this purpose. Its only gonna get worse folks.

February 16, 2014 08:14 pm at 8:14 pm |

MINDCRIME

Oh please.

Stop trying to glorify their crybabying as "drama," and accept it for what it is: pure childishness.

February 16, 2014 08:17 pm at 8:17 pm |

Red

I guess I could buy Ted Cruz as Kevin Spacey but only with multi-concussion syndrome.

February 16, 2014 08:17 pm at 8:17 pm |

Anonymous

Washington kill americans

February 16, 2014 08:22 pm at 8:22 pm |

Mike Nelson

Speaking of repubs resembling characters in TV shows, Both John Boehner and Mitch McConnel look like cartoon dogs... you can figure out who's who.

February 16, 2014 08:24 pm at 8:24 pm |

AntiChrist

The cards are marked and the deck is stacked.

February 16, 2014 08:25 pm at 8:25 pm |

hahdhdga

a show about DC ...and you think there is some similarities to reality... I guess that's why some people are writers.

February 16, 2014 08:27 pm at 8:27 pm |

Barrack Hussein

Robert Levy's call to police saying his daughter had been dating a married congressman, Gary Condit, put officers on an investigative path that they would pursue for months.

At 9:55 p.m. on May 9, 2001, three days after learning that Chandra Levy was missing, D.C. Detective Ralph Durant and his sergeant went to Condit's Adams Morgan condominium.

The congressman told them he had no idea of Chandra's whereabouts. He said they met in fall 2000, when she came to his Capitol Hill office with a friend whom he hired as an intern. He said he and Chandra became friends, and he acknowledged that she had visited him at his apartment and had spent the night a couple of times.

"Did you have an intimate relationship with Ms. Levy?" the sergeant asked.

"I don't think we need to go there," Condit said, "and you can infer what you want with that."

February 16, 2014 08:29 pm at 8:29 pm |

BigSir

McCain never met a war he didn't like.

February 16, 2014 08:30 pm at 8:30 pm |

pablo

Hurray for democracy!

February 16, 2014 08:30 pm at 8:30 pm |

Keith

McCain never saw a war he didn't love

February 16, 2014 08:30 pm at 8:30 pm |

Skarphace

Ted Cruz was destined to become either a preacher, a car salesman, or a politician. Unfortunately for us, he chose the latter.

Good McCarthy , you can start with CRUZ , then move on to his butt buddy LEE, then move on to the anchor baby RUBIO and ten king from Iowa for starters, nobody would miss any of these teabag fools, oh, I forgot the teahage clown BACHMAN and BLACKBURN from tenn.

February 16, 2014 08:34 pm at 8:34 pm |

Netizen

And when the debt comes crashing down, cnn is going to look real dumb.

February 16, 2014 08:37 pm at 8:37 pm |

termlimits

Economic impact on baltimore business community is positive with house of cards production.

February 16, 2014 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

American Worker

More labeling and malice from CNN.

February 16, 2014 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Sharky

I'll bet Ted Cruz got beat up a lot when he was a kid.

February 16, 2014 08:42 pm at 8:42 pm |

Maggie

CNN has just become the National Enquirer. What a ridiculous story. Try some real journalism.

February 16, 2014 08:43 pm at 8:43 pm |

loops808

Hillary is the one with a enemies list and a revenge list. And what kind of atmosphere did she promote that made her staff comfortable with creating an enemies list?

February 16, 2014 08:45 pm at 8:45 pm |

Hadenuffyet

Let 'em eat each other...

February 16, 2014 08:48 pm at 8:48 pm |

john rosen

Ted Cruz is a hero. He is faithful to his beliefs much like the Senator from Vermont. Both are espousing their views which are outside of mainstream politics. They may be ahead of their time and I suspect their influence will pave the way for change.

February 16, 2014 08:48 pm at 8:48 pm |

Luckjoe

I remember when CNN was a news reporting medium. They have morphed into a liberal rag mouth piece.

February 16, 2014 08:54 pm at 8:54 pm |

bob

I don't think the Republicans should say too much about the revenge thing. It's really more of a Republican tradition, and with so many Republicans fed up their own party a lot of them could wind up voting for Hillary.

February 16, 2014 08:57 pm at 8:57 pm |

navaJohn

A one-time Senator..not even, takes over the GOP and once again threatens the United Sates. Why is he even a Senator? Are people there that gullible?

February 16, 2014 09:03 pm at 9:03 pm |

mikenat

Being from Texas all I could add would be that Ted Cruz is a reflection of the informed voters in Texas. How our state could elect this guy and even think of electing Perry again is unfathomable. Believe me these guys do not reflect the people of Texas and are a stigma on the political out of sync process we are facing in Washington. The Tea Potters talk a lot of talk. What have they accomplished except discord!!